New England Distribution

Non-native: introduced
(intentionally or
unintentionally); has become naturalized.

County documented: documented
to exist in the county by
evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers
those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).

State documented: never been
documented from the
county, but known from the state. May be present. Or,
may be restricted to a small area or a habitat (alpine,
marsh, etc.), so unlikely found in some
counties.

Note: when native and non-native
populations both exist in a county, only native status
is shown on the map.

North America Distribution

Facts About

Lesser tussock sedge is uncommon to rare in New England, occuring mainly in fens and open swamps on floating peat mats, and on lake shores. It requires high light and probably does not compete well with taller sedges or other vegetation.

Habitat

Fens, marshes, shores of rivers or lakes, swamps

Characteristics

Habitat

wetlands

New England state

Connecticut

Maine

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Vermont

stem leaf blade width

1–2.5 mm

Lowest bract sheath

the lowest bract has no sheath (or a very short sheath up to four millimeters in length)

Spike on stalk

the lowest spike on the plant is not borne on a peduncle

Top spike

the uppermost spike contains both staminate and carpellate flowers, with the carpellate flowers located below, or intermixed with, the staminate flowers